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federer and serena win the title

Federer is back! The veterans prevail: Roger Federer, 5-time U.S. Open champion, and Serena Williams, 3-time U.S. Open champion, take the title in straight sets from two new competitors, Andy Murray and Jelena Jankovic, both players who have never been in a Grand Slam final before. Playing with post-Australian-Open-semifinal-lost style, Federer has taken his 3rd title and first Grand Slam of the year–a surprisingly bad year for his high standards. The matches were postponed by Hurrican Hanna’s winds and downpour, with the Sunday-scheduled Men’s Final played today.

This win will mark Federer’s 13th Grand Slam singles titles, and only one more and he’ll match Pete Sampras’ record! Of course, the young Scot Murray and the 21-year-old Serb Jankovic both have wonderful opportunities ahead of them as well.

Congratulations Federer on being the first person to win 5 straight Grand Slams in two different tournaments: Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

what?!

Ana Ivanovic lost in the second round of the U.S. Open, repeating her demise at Wimbledon this year, now to 188th-ranked qualifier Julia Coin from France, not having lost to a 188+ ranked player since 2003 when she was ranked in the 700s on the tour. She suffered the earliest exit from the U.S. Open by a top-ranked player in history.

I’m guessing that it would be almost impossible for her to end this week as the World No. 1.

early-round upsets at the 2008 u.s. open

First-Round

11 Daniela Hantuchova loses to Anna-Lena Groenefeld: 3-6, 2-6
10 Anna Chakvetadze loses to Ekaterina Makarova: 6-1, 2-6, 3-6

Ana Ivanovic drops a set but scrapes through with a win 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 against Vera Dushevina.

Second-Round

8 Vera Zvonareva loses to Tatiana Perebiynis: 3-6, 3-6
1 Ana Ivanovic loses to Julia Coin: 3-6, 6-4, 3-6

federer in the olympics?

Roger Federer just lost to James Blake in straight sets at the Olympics, after never having lost more than a set to Blake in the total of 8 matches where they played together. Many people are questioning whether or not he will be as dominant a player as before, and whether or not he will win another Grand Slam. Personally I really want him to remain at the top, because it’s fun to cheer for someone who never loses :P

At the end, he leaves with a gold medal…but in doubles, and Nadal leaves with the singles Olympics title with Djokovic with the bronze.

michael phelps…

…is really cool. And good at swimming, obviously. Also $1 million richer after a bonus from Speedo after a record 8/8 gold medals and 7/8 world records at beijing 2008. And he’s on the front of the corn flakes cereal box!

vintage coach flap bag

This vintage coach flap bag in dark navy blue looks really cute. My roommate has one and I love how it looks old and “used.” The inside is lined with velvety leather which makes it even better. This particular one must be about 10 years old, yet the quality leather still holds and looks beautifully stylish! Prices at this age aren’t too steep either; just about $20-$30 including shipping on eBay. This particular one is going for about $17 right now. Granted, there are still 3 days and 7 hours left of the auction, but if you’re lucky you might be getting an authentic Coach purse for less than dinner! Its being used does not bother me; in fact, when I was searching for this particular bag, “used” was one of my criteria–in my opinion, it just looks much better with light scratches and fraying leather ends. It (1) makes the vintage look adorable and (2) would relieve me of guilt if I accidentally get one drop of oil on it or create one light nail mark. I would go crazy if this was a new $500 bag!

Get it while it lasts–which is not for long.

batman: the dark knight

So I just saw Batman: The Dark Knight, and it was actually surprisingly really really good. Of every movie that I like, I always have a favorite character, and this time it’s surprisingly the Joker played by the late Heath Ledger.

First of all, I loved Heath Ledger’s acting. It was almost perfectly characteristic of the evil villain: careless, deep, and at times “accidentally” funny. The Australian actor may win a posthumous Oscar for his role.

Second, I loved the Joker as a character: suave, deceitful, and all-knowing. Everything goes according to plan for him because of the depth with which he understands the entire city and everyone in it. His plans are another reason he is my favorite character: His plans are all scientific, very smart, very interesting, and very complicated. As a Joker, he jokes around. But his words are also very deep and philosophical. The way he leaves clues as to who his next target is makes his actions even more suspenseful, tactful, and makes his actions seem absolutely flawlessly according to plan. And his plans are not just hit-and-run; they take the time to master every small detail. My favorite one was where the Judge holds the map in a manila folder in her hand, and the piece of paper inside says: Up. And at that moment her car blows up. No matter how much anyone tries to outwit him, they are always just falling right into the palm of his hand…

I love his clothes as well. They totally match his character: outstanding, confusing, and unforgettable. The purple suit and purple gloves just complete him impeccably.

Lastly, I loved his personal “card”: the Joker card of a 54-card deck. He uses it as part of his plans and as part of his finishing touches and his intimidation tactics. When he killed a few policemen at cards, he replaces their cards with a deck of many Joker cards. The sight must have been frightening.

Well anyways, I was reluctant to go see The Dark Knight and would have rather gone to see Mama Mia, but I am so happy that I did see it. One thing I would like to complain about is the rather cliffhanger ending. When the credits began rolling, I was surprised and mad: where was the happy ending? And when will the Joker die? I guess I haven’t exactly been a big fan of the Batman comics and so did not know the entire plot beforehands, but I wanted a better ending than Batman escaping into the dark, wanting to escape from society and laying all of Harvey Two-Face’s murders onto himself! I didn’t mind the death of Rachel Dawes; she was a minor character anyways. I’d rather have her death than Gordon’s. Plus, Rachel’s death was much more applicable to the storyline. The only thing I can complain about is the dropped ending.

I’ve heard they weren’t going to make a sequel, but money makes people do things they weren’t planning on doing (think Terminator and Pirates of the Caribbean and Star Wars). So I think it’s safe to say that Batman will return. The Joker, however, will not.

why do people live in michigan?

Why do people live anywhere else besides where I live (New Jersey) or anywhere that resembles New Jersey (suburbs near big city, AKA New York City). Why would anyone want to live in the middle of nowhere selling hot dogs at a family-owned restaurant or working for a car company that is situated in the middle of Michigan.

I understand the coziness of living in a small, isolated community, because I would rather live in such a place than in a big city, but why any place in particular? Why not the middle of Kansas or Ohio or Idaho or Alabama?

And why are there enough people in East Lansing, Michigan, to create a community that needs even a high school?!?!

I also just kind of assumed that nobody lived anywhere other than where I lived (the U.S.) and all other countries are just sand and dust and little huts where nomadic tribes lived off of home-raised chickens. And if given the choice, they would live anywhere else.

It always surprises me when people say “I’m from Turkey” or “I’m from Sri Lanka” on a random site, with which I respond “They have computers in Turkey?” or just “Why?”

Funny, but it’s really just my ignorance. Hehe.

alla kudryavtseva: maria sharapova’s early-round defeat at wimbledon 2008

“Alla Kudryavtseva caused one of the biggest upsets of the 2008 tennis season by ousting third seed Maria Sharapova in straight sets at Wimbledon” (On the Baseline).

I’ve heard that said about Maria so many times. Not that Maria has upset anyone: Maria has been upset’d so many times. U.S. Open 2007: 3nd-round lost. French Open 2008 (where she was the top seed): pre-quarterfinal lost. And now, at Wimbledon, a 2nd-round lost to a player ranked at #154.

But she’s won the Australian Open this year, with stunning straight-set wins in every match that she played. It was simply amazing to watch. Seeing how she breezed through every match, the commentators noted that there was no way Maria Sharapova could have lost the tournament, no matter how lucky her opponents got.

But at the French, where she double-faulted in double-digits for every match, I thought I was seeing a different Maria Sharapova. And that Maria Sharapova was who played against her countrywoman in the Wimbledon 2nd round in June.

It seems like Maria’s #3 ranking comes from her two alter-egos: one who plays at the level of a World #1 player and one who plays at the level of a 50+ ranked player. So Maria’s “stunning upset” at the hands of #154 Alla Kudryavtseva isn’t really that stunning after all. Maria doesn’t deserve to make history by setting the record for “worst performance of a top-seeded player against lowest-ranked opponent.”

Kudryavtseva also rubs salt into the wound during her press conference:

“I don’t know her well. I think I’m quite sure no one on the tour knows Maria well because she’s not a very talkative girl and not very outgoing,” Kudryavtseva said.

“But we were in the same team for Fed Cup. After that she started saying hello. That’s nice.

“It’s very pleasant to beat Maria. Why? Well, I don’t like her outfit. Can I put it this way? It’s a little too much of everything.

“It was one of the motivations to beat her.”

“If I’m not afraid to go play her and she’s world No.3, I’m not afraid she’s going to catch me in the dressing room and say, ‘You know what, you said you don’t like my outfit. You were wrong’.” Kudryavtseva said.

“I will say, “Sorry. That’s just my opinion’.”

ana ivanovic is still #1!

After an early 2nd-round loss at Wimbledon just a few weeks ago to Chinese wild-card and semifinalist Zheng Jie, I was a little shocked that Ana Ivanovic is still #1. However, that #1 title is not undeserved, and the fact that almost all over top 10 players except for eventual champion Venus (or was it Serena?), her sister, and Elena Dementieva, all ranked at the bottom of the top 10, lost before the quarterfinals.

Well, Ana can take that defeat to heart and learn from the pressure of being #1. Congratulations to her for winning the French Open just a few weeks before the start of Wimbledon, though!

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